A new data center is being proposed in Aurora in an area in the city's far East Side already known for its high tech businesses. The City Council recommended a plan revision and preliminary plan for the data center. The proposal still needs to be voted on by the full City Council.
Developers have stated that the data center could be anchored by a Fortune 100 company but would not say which company. It would be either Apple, Google, Microsoft or Amazon. By attracting Fortune 100 companies, this could become a tech corridor along I-88.
Seefried Properties, developer of the data center, said the site would generate little traffic and would never become a warehouse-distribution use. The company is using no city incentives, and between the developer and eventual owner, Endeavor Edged Electric, a global data center operator would own and operate the property.
The Chicago Tribune states that the company estimates it would generate about $3.4 million a year in utility taxes for the city, and about $800,000 in real estate taxes. It would also generate between 40 to 60 high-tech full-time jobs, and about 2,000 construction jobs over a three to five year period according to officials.
Data centers are high users of electricity and water, and one of the attractions for the site is that it is near a ComEd substation and a redundant fiber network. A spokesman for Edged Energy said it would use technologies that would result in zero water impact and zero carbon emissions.
The plan is to eventually have three buildings on the property along Bilter Road, with the shell for the first one being done by December 2023. The company plans to make a design that somewhat mitigates the almost prison-like look of a data center, which has high-level security.
Data Center Dynamics reports that Edged Energy is a newcomer promising "net-zero digital infrastructure" for the Edge. The company plans to develop low-power waterless facilities with a PUE of 1.15 that utilizes local renewable energy, primarily roof-mounted and ground PV installations.
Plans are for Building 2 to be the largest and will be double the size of Building 1. The development would include electric vehicle charging and "alternative" fuels for its backup generators as well as on-site solar panels.
Edged Energy will reportedly be investing $500 million into the project and is not taking any local tax breaks.
Plans also will include:
- Starting with five charging stations
- A new substation
- Several retail spots at edge of the first building where people could wait for their cars to be charged
The development is part of the Butterfield Planned Development District, some 1,200 acres that was annexed to Aurora in the 1970's. This is the last 100 acres left. The property is divided into two parcels, and Edged Energy development would be on the first parcel. The Mayor's Office of Economic Development will work to help market the second parcel to the west.
